Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First, Amazon.com has the lowest price out there (I checked a lot of online and brick & mortar locations that also have a web site). Only one other online location has the same price for this "New" machine (not refurbished). Second, I've been machine embroidering for about 15 years with two different Husqvarna-Viking embroidery sewing machines that cost as much as 10 times the price of this PE770 (no, I'm not kidding). Granted, both of those machines are also sewing machines, but most people wanting an embroidery machine already have a regular sewing machine. If they don't, Brother makes combo machines that are very affordable, such as Brother LB6800PRW Project Runway Computerized Embroidery and Sewing Machine. The hoop is a little smaller (4 x 4), but still a good value. I got this PE770 to have a second embroidery machine so I could sew on my Viking Diamond while still being able to do embroidery (instead of always having to keep switching back in forth on the Viking while working on a project). I am totally impressed by this Brother PE770! It produces excellent embroidery designs that look great! You do not need to have any embroidery software, although useful, it is not required. You can buy designs on Brother embroidery cards that insert into the machine or on CDs/Internet download and simply copy and paste onto a flash drive/thumb drive. They open very easily when you put the thumb drive into the USB port on the machine. As another reviewer mentioned, you can see some great videos on YouTube by Vince J Arcuri (search for Brother PE770 & you'll see several videos for the PE770...click on his name in one of the videos & it will take you to all of his Brother videos). There are also videos from other sources that are useful. Out of the box I was able to stitch out an embroidery design that I converted from a different format into a PES format that the PE770 uses. The design stitched out perfectly. I couldn't tell if it was done on my expensive Viking or the Brother. It's that good. Honestly. Lastly, the PE770 is not only a great second embroidery machine for experienced users, but an affordable option for those who are interested in getting into machine embroidery but not ready or able to invest a lot of money. It's really easy to use and the needle threader works great! It works better than the needle threader on my expensive Viking (no joke). The Elipse 4 Hoop package is also a good add-on Elipse 4-Hoop Embroidery Package w/ Embroidery Thread and Scissors for Brother PE-700, PE700II, PE-750D, PE-770, PE-780D, Innovis 1000, Innovis 1200, Innovis 1250D, PC-6500, PC-8200, PC-8500 and Babylock Ellure, Emore and Esante This is a solid 5 star positive review...a "no-brainer" in my book! :o) UPDATE: Since my 2012 review here, I've upgraded my other Husqvarna Viking machine to one, that if bought new, costs about 20 times what I paid for my PE770 and I cannot tell the difference between what I stitched out on the PE770 to that stitched on my Viking, the Designer Diamond. In September 2014, I bought my Diamond from my local Viking service center gently used so, thankfully, I didn't even pay 1/2 of what it would have cost new.